Gods, Graves, Glyphs
Weekly Digest #224
Saturday, November 1, 2008
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Prehistory and Origins
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Humans made fire 790,000 years ago: study
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10/28/2008 7:53:10 PM PDT · Posted by SunkenCiv · 27 replies · 480+ views
Reuters, via Yahoo! | Sunday, October 26, 2008 | Ari Rabinovitch, ed by Alastair Macdonald
A new study shows that humans had the ability to make fire nearly 790,000 years ago, a skill that helped them migrate from Africa to Europe. By analyzing flints at an archaeological site on the bank of the river Jordan, researchers at Israel's Hebrew University discovered that early civilizations had learned to light fires, a turning point that allowed them to venture into unknown lands. A previous study of the site published in 2004 showed that man had been able to control fire -- for example transferring it by means of burning branches -- in that early time period. But...
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Helix, Make Mine a Double
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Genome-Wide Analysis of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Uncovers Population Structure in No. Europe
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10/30/2008 2:00:48 PM PDT · Posted by SunkenCiv · 22 replies · 500+ views
PLoS ONE | October 24, 2008 | Salmela E, Lappalainen T, Fransson I, Andersen PM, Dahlman-Wright K, et al.
Principal Findings In this study, we analysed almost 250,000 SNPs from a total of 945 samples from Eastern and Western Finland, Sweden, Northern Germany and Great Britain complemented with HapMap data. Small but statistically significant differences were observed between the European populations (FST = 0.0040, p<10-4), also between Eastern and Western Finland (FST = 0.0032, p<10-3). The latter indicated the existence of a relatively strong autosomal substructure within the country, similar to that observed earlier with smaller numbers of markers. The Germans and British were less differentiated than the Swedes, Western Finns and especially the Eastern Finns who also showed...
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Neandertal / Neanderthal
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Why did Neanderthals have such big noses?
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10/28/2008 7:45:29 PM PDT · Posted by SunkenCiv · 38 replies · 650+ views
New Scientist | October 27, 2008 | Ewen Callaway
The traditional answer has been that Neanderthals have a big nose because they have a big mouth and a wide jaw, useful for ripping apart tough food, says Nathan Holton, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Iowa. Why, then, do Neanderthals have faces that jut further out than humans? "They had them because earlier hominids had them," Houlton says. He laments the tendency of some anthropologists to "atomise the body", and explain each of its part as an exquisite adaptation to an environment. Selection for strong jaws and teeth has been a favourite explanation for other Neanderthal facial features, as...
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Ancient Autopsies
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Ancient iceman probably has no modern relatives
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10/30/2008 2:49:25 PM PDT · Posted by MissCalico · 27 replies · 538+ views
Yahoo News | October, 30, 2008 | Reporting by Michael Kahn
An undated handout file photo shows "Otzi", Italy's prehistoric iceman. -- "Otzi," Italy's prehistoric iceman, probably does not have any modern day descendants, according to a study published Thursday. A team of Italian and British scientists who sequenced his mitochondrial DNA -- which is passed down through the mother's line -- found that Otzi belonged to a genetic lineage that is either extremely rare or has died out. Otzi's 5,300-year-old corpse was found frozen in the Tyrolean Alps in...
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Scientists believe 5,300-year-old mummified 'ice man' belonged to unknown branch of human fam. tree
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10/31/2008 10:15:15 AM PDT · Posted by BGHater · 21 replies · 815+ views
Daily Mail | 31 Oct 2008 | Daily Mail
A 5,300-year-old mummified 'ice man' unearthed in the Alps belonged to a previously unknown branch of the human family tree, scientists have discovered. No trace of the lineage appears to remain today, meaning that the 'ice man' - dubbed 'Oetzi' - is unlikely to have any descendants. Oetzi's mummified remains were found in September 1991 in the Eastern Alps near the Austro-Italian border. The 5,300-year-old remains of Oetzi the iceman. Scientists have failed to trace his lineage, fearing his family may have become extinct He was about 46 years old when he met his violent death. Examinations revealed that he...
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Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues, the Sniffles
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Egyptian Mummies Yield Earliest Evidence of Malaria
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10/28/2008 8:03:16 PM PDT · Posted by SunkenCiv · 7 replies · 120+ views
Discovery News | Thursday, October 23, 2008 | Rossella Lorenzi
Two Egyptian mummies who died more than 3,500 years ago have provided clear evidence for the earliest known cases of malaria, according to a study presented this week in Naples at an international conference on ancient DNA. Pathologist Andreas Nerlich and colleagues at the Academic Teaching Hospital Munchen-Bogenhausen in Munich, Germany, studied 91 bone tissue samples from ancient Egyptian mummies and skeletons dating from 3500 to 500 B.C. Using special techniques from molecular biology, such as DNA amplification and gene sequencing, the researchers identified ancient DNA for the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in tissues from two mummies... Caused by four...
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Oldest Malarial Mummies Shed Light on Disease Evolution
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10/30/2008 11:08:48 AM PDT · Posted by Soliton · 6 replies · 108+ views
National Geographic | October 30, 2008 | Andrew Bossone
The oldest known cases of malaria have been discovered in two 3,500-year-old Egyptian mummies, scientists announced. Researchers in Germany studied bone tissue samples from more than 90 mummies found in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, now called Luxor. Two adult mummies from separate tombs had tissues containing ancient DNA from a parasite known to cause malaria, the researchers announced at a conference last week. In addition, a separate team at University College London recently found that a pair of 9,000-year-old skeletons -- a woman and a baby -- discovered off the coast of Israel were infected with the oldest known cases of tuberculosis...
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Let's Have Jerusalem
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Jordan copper mines from biblical times could be King Solomon's
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10/27/2008 5:24:51 PM PDT · Posted by BGHater · 13 replies · 453+ views
Times Online | 28 Oct 2008 | Mark Henderson
An ancient copper works in Jordan may have been the location of the fabled King Solomon's mines, new archaeological investigations suggest. The dig at Khirbat al-Nahas, once a thriving copper production centre in the Faynan district, about 30 miles (50km) south of the Dead Sea, has found evidence that it dates back to the 10th century BC, making it at least two centuries older than was thought. The new date means that the mine was almost certainly active during the time of the biblical Jewish kings David and Solomon. Scientists who conducted the excavations are now working to establish whether...
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Archeologists 'find King Solomon's mines'
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10/28/2008 5:24:34 PM PDT · Posted by BuckeyeTexan · 19 replies · 1,267+ views
heraldsun.com | 10/29/2008
In a discovery straight out of an Indiana Jones movie, archeologists believe they have uncovered one of the lost mines of King Solomon. The vast copper mine lies in an arid valley in modern-day Jordan and was created in the 10th century BC - around the time Solomon is believed to have ruled over the ancient Hebrews. The mines are enormous and would have generated a huge income for the king, who is famed for bringing extraordinary wealth and stability to the newly united kingdom of Israel and Judah. The announcement will reopen the debate about how much of the...
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Faith and Philosophy
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'2,000-year-old Jesus box' may not be a fake, as Jerusalem forgery trial nears collapses
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10/29/2008 7:42:25 PM PDT · Posted by BGHater · 63 replies · 1,155+ views
Daily Mail | 30 Oct 2008 | Daily Mail
A judge is set to throw out charges against experts accused of faking a stone box that claimed to offer the first physical proof of the existence of Christ - raising the possibility once again that it could be genuine. The discovery of the 2,000-year-old ossuary, or bone box, bearing the words, 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus', was regarded as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries when it emerged nearly a decade ago. Fake or genuine: Men accused of forging an inscription of the 'Jesus Box' could be released The disputed inscription on the 'Jesus Box' But other...
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Longer Perspectives
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'Oldest Hebrew writing found near J'lem'
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10/30/2008 5:07:10 AM PDT · Posted by SJackson · 12 replies · 459+ views
Jerusalem Post | 10-30-08
An Israeli archaeologist digging at a hilltop south of Jerusalem believes a ceramic shard found in the ruins of an ancient town bears the oldest Hebrew inscription ever discovered, a find that could provide an important glimpse into the culture and language of the Holy Land at the time of the Bible. The five lines of faded characters written 3,000 years ago, and the ruins of the fortified settlement where they were found, are indications that a powerful Israelite kingdom existed at the time of King David, says Yossi Garfinkel, the Hebrew University archaeologist in charge of the new dig...
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Oldest Possibly Hebrew Inscription Possibly Found
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10/30/2008 12:48:50 PM PDT · Posted by Alex Murphy · 18 replies · 416+ views
Fox News | October 30, 2008 | AP
...The five lines of faded characters written 3,000 years ago, and the ruins of the fortified settlement where they were found, are indications that a powerful Israelite kingdom existed at the time of the Old Testament's King David, says Yossi Garfinkel, the Hebrew University archaeologist in charge of the new dig at Hirbet Qeiyafa...
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Archeologist finds 3,000-year old Hebrew text
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10/30/2008 6:37:54 PM PDT · Posted by george76 · 45 replies · 994+ views
CNN | October 30, 2008
An Israeli archaeologist has discovered what he says is the earliest-known Hebrew text, found on a shard of pottery that dates to the time of King David from the Old Testament, about 3,000 years ago. Professor Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says the inscribed pottery shard -- known as an ostracon -- was found during excavations of a fortress from the 10th century BC. Carbon dating of the ostracon, along with pottery analysis, dates the inscription to time of King David, about a millennium earlier than the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, the university said. The shard contains...
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Epigraphy and Language
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New archaeological discovery rewrites earliest Chinese characters dating
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10/29/2008 5:27:53 PM PDT · Posted by SunkenCiv · 10 replies · 242+ views
Xinhua | Friday, October 24, 2008 | Editor: Yan
Inscribed animal bones and jade pieces unearthed in Changle County of eastern Shandong Province are earliest examples of Chinese characters dating back 4,500 years ago, the latest archaeological studies show. The discovery broke the record for the previous earliest known examples of Chinese characters, the inscribed animal bones and tortoise shells, known as the oracle bones, of the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC-1100 BC), by more than 1,300 years. The oracle bones were major discoveries at the Yinxu in Anyang of central China's Henan Province... Li Laifu, the Shandong Oracle Scripts Association president, said the inscriptions may be left by the...
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Rome and Italy
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Treasure hunters set to coin it with Roman haul[UK]
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10/29/2008 7:16:05 PM PDT · Posted by BGHater · 16 replies · 377+ views
MK News | 29 Oct 2008 | LAURA HANNAM
As the credit crunch hits pensioners across the country one pair have hit the jackpot by finding buried treasure. Barrie Plasom and Dave Phillips The finders of a hoard of thousands of Roman coins agree with the words inscribed on them; 'happy times are here again'. The collection of bronze coins, which may be worth hundreds of thousands in sterling, were discovered in a field north of Newport Pagnell and have now been declared as treasure. It was discovered by a pair of experienced metal detectorists on ploughed farmland on December 1, 2006. An investigation into the find was concluded...
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British Isles
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Britain's 'most important archeological' discovery found in desk drawer
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10/28/2008 8:13:08 PM PDT · Posted by SunkenCiv · 3 replies · 620+ views
Telegraph | Thursday, October 23, 2008 | Urmee Khan
The pinhead-sized studs form an intricate pattern on the handle of a dagger, but archeologists failed to realise their significance when they excavated the burial mound in Wiltshire - known as Bush Barrow - in 1808. Now they are to be re-united with other priceless artefacts unearthed at the site and put on show at the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes after Niall Sharples, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University turned out his predecessors' desk and discovered them in a film canister labelled Bush Barrow. In the 1960s, the gold was taken away for examination by Professor Richard Atkinson, a...
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The Vikings
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Does ring found in field date back to Norman conquest?[UK]
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10/31/2008 10:32:14 AM PDT · Posted by BGHater · 19 replies · 530+ views
The News | 31 Oct 2008 | Jeff Travis
A metal detector enthusiast believes he has found a royal crown jewel buried in a field. Peter Beasley, 67, was stunned when he pulled a heavy gold ring from the ground while out with his metal detector near Petersfield. He claims the ring is 900 years old and belonged to Robert, the eldest son of William the Conquerer, whose name is engraved on the ring. Robert, known as 'Short-legs', unsuccessfully attempted to take the English throne when he landed in Portsmouth in 1101. But Mr Beasley is now involved in a dispute over the authenticity of the ring. The British...
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Middle Ages and Renaissance
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The Battle of Lepanto
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10/27/2008 2:08:21 PM PDT · Posted by mainestategop · 24 replies · 561+ views
mainestategop blog | 10/27/08 | mainestategop
This October was the 437th anniversary of a forgotten yet crucial battle in the defense of western civilization called the battle of Lepanto. It is the victory of this battle that is the reason we are living in a free nation rather than an Islamic style dictatorship. It is why we are still Christian and not Muslim. It is the reason for the existence of America as it is as a free nation. (Though now and days it is not that free.) In 1571, The Turkish Ottoman empire was the superpower of the day. On land, the armies of...
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Australia and the Pacific
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The real Robinson Crusoe: Archaeological island dig unearths fresh evidence of historical castaway
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10/30/2008 9:02:47 AM PDT · Posted by BGHater · 17 replies · 753+ views
Daily Mail | 30 Oct 2008 | Chris Johnson
The legendary literary story of Robinson Crusoe, cast away on a desert island, has captivated readers for centuries. Now archaeologists have unearthed fresh evidence about the real-life Crusoe - Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk - who was marooned in 1704 on a small tropical island in the Pacific Ocean for more than four years. During a dig on the island of Aguas Buenas , a nautical instrument was discovered, along with proof of a campsite dwelling, thought to be used by Selkirk. The research, presented in the journal Post-Medieval Archaeology, supports contemporary record of the Scotman's existence on the island, since...
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PreColumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis
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Ancient Bone Tool Sheds Light on Prehistoric Midwest
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10/28/2008 8:28:30 PM PDT · Posted by SunkenCiv · 23 replies · 317+ views
Newswise | Tuesday, October 21, 2008 | University of Indianapolis
A prehistoric bone tool discovered by University of Indianapolis archeologists is the oldest such artifact ever documented in Indiana, the researchers say. Radiocarbon dating shows that the tool -- an awl fashioned from the leg bone of a white tail deer, with one end ground to a point -- is 10,400 years old. The find supports the growing notion that, in the wake of the most recent Ice Age, the first Hoosiers migrated northward earlier than previously thought. Sites from the Paleoindian and Early Archaic eras are more common in surrounding states such as Illinois and Ohio, which were not...
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Catastrophism and Astronomy
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Coast-2-Coast AM 10.29.08 Mike Heiser -Ancient Ghosts-
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10/29/2008 7:04:34 PM PDT · Posted by Perdogg · 8 replies · 261+ views
C2C | 10.29.08 | Perdogg
Expert in theology, biblical languages, and world civilizations, Mike Heiser will discuss ghosts & spirits in the Bible and other ancient literature.
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Oh So Mysteriouso
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Dateline: The ghosts of government
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10/26/2008 7:36:27 AM PDT · Posted by Pharmboy · 8 replies · 196+ views
The Dallas Morning News | Sunday, October 26, 2008 | John Riley
The nation's capital is awash with lawmakers, lobbyists and policy wonks. But by night, it's home to a variety of ghosts and demonic spirits, at least according to local folklore. Built on a swamp, Washington has had a long and bloody history, including being a wartime battleground. Many ghosts from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War are said to haunt the city. Some even believe the White House is haunted, with many former residents and staffers saying they've seen the ghosts of President Abraham Lincoln and former first ladies Abigail Adams and Dolley...
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Large Medium, or Small?
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Campaigners bid to clear the 'witch' who leaked WWII secrets about sinking battleship[UK]
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03/02/2008 10:55:54 AM PST · Posted by BGHater · 48 replies · 214+ views
Daily Mail | 01 Mar 2008 | Andy Dolan
When the battleship Barham was torpedoed by the Germans in November 1941, with the loss of over 800 lives, the Admiralty delayed announcing the news to maintain morale. But the secrecy was ended within a few days when medium Helen Duncan told a couple during a seance that their son, a sailor on the ship, had appeared from the spirit world to tell them it had sunk. Witch? Helen Duncan, pictured in a portrait from 1931, was jailed for nine months in 1944 under the Witchcraft Act of 1735 In one of the most bizarre acts of the Second World...
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World War Eleven
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Nazi Enigma Machines Helped General Franco in Spanish Civil War
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10/25/2008 2:57:39 PM PDT · Posted by kellynla · 35 replies · 796+ views
timesonline | October 24, 2008 | Graham Keeley in Barcelona
Sixteen crates locked in a dark store room in Madrid for more than 70 years hold the secret to how General Franco might have won the Spanish Civil War. Inside the crates are Enigma code-making machines that Franco had bought from Nazi Germany and used to co-ordinate his troops who fought on fronts hundreds of miles apart. The 26 machines were discovered this week by the Spanish daily newspaper El Pais, hidden in army headquarters since the Civil War ended in 1939, most still in perfect condition. The Enigma machines gave Franco's Nationalists a crucial advantage because their code was...
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Paleontology
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Dinosaur inspires flying robot
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10/28/2008 2:04:56 PM PDT · Posted by 2ndDivisionVet · 9 replies · 414+ views
Electronics Weekly | October 28, 2008 | Steve Bush
Texan researchers are mimicking the physical and biological characteristics of a pterosaur to create a 'pterodrone' - an unmanned aerial vehicle that flies, walks and sails like the original. "The next generation of airborne drones won't just be small and silent," said Texas Tech University, "they'll alter their wing shapes using morphing techniques to squeeze through confined spaces, dive between buildings, zoom under overpasses, land on apartment balconies, or sail along the coastline." The research team consists of palaeontologist Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech, University of Florida aeronautical engineer Rick Lind, and their students Andy Gedeon and Brian Roberts. The...
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Biology and Cryptobiology
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Rare, prehistoric-age reptile found nesting in NZ
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11/01/2008 2:03:57 PM PDT · Posted by NormsRevenge · 34 replies · 860+ views
AP on Yahoo | 11/1/08 | Ral Lilley - ap
A rare reptile with lineage dating back to the dinosaur age has been found nesting on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in about 200 years, officials said Friday. Four leathery, white eggs from an indigenous tuatara were found by staff at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in the capital, Wellington, during routine maintenance work Friday, conservation manager Rouen Epson said. "The nest was uncovered by accident and is the first concrete proof we have that our tuatara are breeding," Epson said. "It suggests that there may be other nests in the sanctuary we don't...
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'Shop 'til You Drop
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"Skeleton Of Giant" Is Internet Photo Hoax
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12/21/2007 3:02:30 PM PST · Posted by blam · 48 replies · 377+ views
National Geographic News | 12-14-2007 | James Owens
The National Geographic Society has not discovered ancient giant humans, despite rampant reports and pictures. The hoax began with a doctored photo and later found a receptive online audience -- thanks perhaps to the image's unintended religious connotations. A digitally altered photograph created in 2002 shows a reclining giant surrounded by a wooden platform -- with a shovel-wielding archaeologist thrown in for scale. (Photo Gallery: "Giant Skeletons" Fuel Web Hoax) By 2004 the "discovery" was being blogged and emailed all over the world -- "Giant Skeleton Unearthed!" -- and it's been enjoying...
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Thoroughly Modern Miscellany
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The Greatest US Presidents - The Times US presidential rankings
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10/31/2008 4:51:21 PM PDT · Posted by BGHater · 81 replies · 851+ views
Times Online | 31 Oct 2008 | Nico Hines
Who is the greatest of them all? While Barack Obama and John McCain battle to become the 44th President of the United States, we asked a panel of experts from The Times to rank the previous Commanders-in-Chief in order of greatness. 1. Abraham Lincoln 1861-65 (Republican, National Union) The No 1: our panel chose the radical Republican who kept the fledgling nation alive when it could have collapsed altogether. The first Republican President, Lincoln led the defeat of the Confederate states in the American Civil War and freed around four million slaves by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. The formal abolition...
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end of digest #224 20081101
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